Cowboys suffer consecutive losing seasons, as Dak Prescott is benched and defender is ejected in lopsided loss
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The Dallas Cowboys suffered back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 2002 after Sunday’s 34-17 loss to the New York Giants.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was pulled from the game in the first half, and linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku was ejected from the game after a Giants player took off his helmet between downs in the third quarter.
Prescott’s game and his season ended after a first half in which he fumbled and passed for only 70 yards. He left the game as the league leader in passing yards during the season.
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Kavontae Turpin of the Dallas Cowboys tackles Raheem Layne #43 of the New York Giants during a game at MetLife Stadium on January 4, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
In Prescott’s absence, the Cowboys took an 18-7 lead in the second half and the team was locked in a costly standoff with the Giants’ rivals that resulted in penalties and ejections. Ezeiruaku’s ejection occurred after the Giants scored a touchdown to take a 22-10 lead, and a fight broke out with pushing, shoving and intentional facemask grabbing.
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Dallas defensive back Quinnen Williams was also assessed an unnecessary roughness penalty, which led to the Giants coming to the one-yard line on consecutive points, while New York took a 24-10 lead and advanced to the second point.
Dallas never recovered as backup quarterback Joe Milton threw a late interception en route to a 17-point loss to end the season.
It was a fitting end to an unsuccessful season for the Cowboys, who officially extended their Super Bowl drought to 30 years.
In order to increase its playoff chances, Dallas went all-in at this year’s trade deadline, trading a 2027 first-round pick and a 2026 second-round pick to the New York Jets for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. But it won’t pay off in the short term for the Cowboys after their failure in 2025. Williams has a contract until 2027.
Questions about whether the Cowboys will be competitive in 2025 were raised after the team traded star linebacker Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers before the season. The Cowboys’ defense ranks 29th in the NFL this year without Parsons.
Dallas gave its fans some hope with a three-game winning streak in November, jumping from 3-5-1 to 6-5-1 and moving within striking distance of seventh place in the NFC. However 44-30 loss of prime time The Dec. 4 game against the Detroit Lions sucked all the air out of the game, dropping Dallas’ playoff chances to just 8%. Following the loss to the Lions, they went 1-3 in their last four games and fell to a losing record
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Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys plays the ball in the first quarter against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on January 4, 2026. (Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
The Giants, meanwhile, improved to 4-13 on the season for their third straight losing season. The Giants had a chance to secure the second or first pick in the NFL Draft with Sunday’s loss, but could potentially drop as low as the seventh pick with a win.
The Giants also defeated the Cowboys and Eagles in the same season for the first time since 2020.
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